


How deep is the ocean (how high is the sky)

by KiriJones



Series: Kissed by fire [12]
Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Love lost and found
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2019-11-18 18:32:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18124943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiriJones/pseuds/KiriJones
Summary: Ecbert, King of Wessex and Mercia, was a cruel and selfish man who craved power. But beneath his dark heart he loved his children. It was for them he would carve the land into something great.With the great heathen army on the horizon and two of his grandchildren missing Ecbert must rise to fight the rising tide.Ivar the Boneless has said missing grandchildren in his grasp and he has vowed to every god listening that he will not give them up. They are all that remain of the woman he loved and lost.These two men are on a collision course not knowing that a missing puzzle piece is about to emerge.





	1. Chapter 1

War has torn the land apart. Men dead and women raped and children missing. It is enough to drive anyone mad. But despite this life continued on. Crops were planted and children born and all sought to make it through the day. Edwin was such a man. A simple man married to the midwife of his village. He did was was needed to survive. He hunted and tilled the ground and killed anyone who stood in his way. Once a soldier a always a soldier he supposed. 

One day in the forest he came across a curious sight. One that made his heart stutter and his senses scream as he drew his sword. In a clearing he could smell the stench of blood. A trail of it led to the body. It was a woman. Dressed in clothing that gave away her noble origins. She was covered in blood. It was days old. Edwin was not a man prone to mercy. But even he could show decency. So he moved to turn the body so that he could give the woman a burial at least. 

It was when he was turning the body he noticed her hair. It was as red as the blood covering her. The gown was too big for her and it was then he saw it. A cut in the fabric on her stomach. And he could see the wound itself. His blood was chilled and he crossed himself. What the hells??? In the moment he made the motion of the cross he heard a gasp as the women's eyes opened and she coughed up blood. It stained her lips as she looked at him wild and helpless. 

"My baby....where...." She coughed again and tears formed in her eyes. Her skin was hot to the touch. A fever then. "My baby....." She muttered the same words over and over. Edwin sheathed his sword and swung he woman into his arms. He took off as fast as he could and began bellowing for his wife Anna. 

On the edge of the village stood his hut. And it was here Edwin rushed and his wife stood from feeding the chickens to take in the sight of her husband with a half dead woman in his arms. Soon they were in the kitchen and she instructed him to go and fetch the healer. Hot water was boiled and clean linens found. Others rushed into the hut. The sun had barely risen when Edwin began his day. It had set when his wife finally emerged covered in sweat and blood. She collapsed next to him in the dirt. He drew her into his arms. 

"We have done all we can."

"Anna that wound..."

his wife is silent before she speaks."she kept begging for her baby Edwin. Was there another body?" 

"No. Will she live?" 

"If she can make it though tonight anything is possible. The cut was clean. But it was covered in dirt and infected. She must have dragged herself through the forest to get help Edwin. Something tells me this woman is too stubborn to die."

so the couple hold bated breaths and take turns watching the woman through the night. In the morning her chest is still rising.


	2. Chapter 2

The woman in front of him looks so different from the wraith he discovered months ago. Her skin is pale but healthy. She is thin but not sickly. Her eyes burn and in those hazel depths Edwin can see so many emotions. Her wounds are healing and she is beginning to look like a woman who can take on the world. But he sees her hand drift up and she sighs. They had been unable to save her hair. Those red curls that reached her lower back were lopped off. Now her hair is short as as mans's. She is sitting on the grass and staring at the forest by his home. Edwin may not be a learnt man but he has an idea of who this woman is. 

She is polite but he knows she is distracted. His wife and the healer of the village say she is almost ready. The woman can almost walk by herself now. But she relies on a walking stick he fashioned. She gets tired easily and the world is at war. And he knows she is mourning. He wonders if it is for the child they never found or the fact that she will never again bear another? 

The healer had been upfront and said the trauma she endured has made it so that she will never carry another child. To conceive would be almost impossible and if she did miscarriage would be the only ending. The woman had cried silently and refused to speak for days. 

Even now they do not speak much. She struggles to rise and when she does he offers her his arm. They enter his humble abode and she helps his wife Anna with the cooking and sewing. As she sleeps Edwin looks at the ceiling as his wife breathes beside him. 

Edwin knows when Diana leaves that they will not let her go alone. He is a man of war. His wife has grown too attached to the girl. And so they will uproot their lives and for what? He is not sure. But the time does come and so a month later Diana, Edwin, and Anna set off with a few young men eager to make their way in the world. 

Diana promises to repay those who helped her. Edwin knows she will keep her promise. As she regains her strength he sees flashes of a woman of bearing and royalty and will. They make for The capital. And as he trains the boys and Diana helps Anna skin the hare he caught with a skill he did not expect she meets his eyes and smiles. It is a small smile. But it is a victory he will take. 

When Diana sleeps she dreams. She dreams of Charles and the girl she wanted to call Margaret. She dream of playing in fields. She dreams of her father and brother. She dreams of Ivar. She dreams they lie on a bed. He is holding her in his arms and playing with her curls. His blue eyes do not leave her own. They look at her with love and joy. That is how she knows it is a dream. Ivar did not love her. He would never show a Christian this weakness. 

But she will take these dreams. And when she wakes she silently sobs in her bed roll and tries to prepare herself. Once they reach her Father she does not know what to expect. She knows war is occurring. They say Aelle is dead. The Vikings are marching. Her father is ready for battle. And Diana wants her children. She wants to be home is Wessex with her books and family in front of a warm fire. She is tired it war. She wants to sleep and rest and not dream of a life she can never have. But the dreams are the only place she finds peace. 

In the dreams she doesn't have to accept the fact her children may be dead and that the so called great heathen army could destroy her home. But as she travels with her small party Diana knows she has to swallow her sorrow and be who she is. 

She is Diana. Princess of Wessex and Mercia. Daughter of Ecbert and Maria of Frankia. She has no choice. She must go foreword. If she looks back too long she will be lost. So she closes off her heart and dares not think of a cripple who owns what her children and family do not have.

miles away said cripple looks on as boy play with his sister. And Ivar the Boneless yearns. He yearns to call these children his. He yearns for their mother. And he yearns to kill her husband and brother and father. He will avenge Diana even if he has to tear apart England with his own hands. 


	3. Chapter 3

When Diana finally arrives in the capital of Wessex with her motley crew it is not her father or brother the greets her. Instead it is Judith and her nephews. All stare at her in shock and disbelief and fear. But she holds her head high and walks like the princess she is. It is only when the door close that she allows herself to fall apart. Judith holds her as she rages and weeps. There is no word of Charles or of her baby. Mags and Peter have vanished. She has no choice but to make her peace with this burden. Her children as dead. They ar win God's embrace with her mother. And she has no time to mourn. 

Aelle is dead. Killed at the hands of the sons of Ragnar. A great heathen army storms her land. Her husband and father-in-law are still at large with what remains of Aelle's forces. Diana vows to any God listening that she is blood eagle them both herself. When Judith tells her that Ivar is rumored to have vowed to kill them all Diana can not say she is surprised. Ivar always hated her the most she thinks. She was a Christian who had dared to save him at his weakest moment from drowning. She wonders if it would have been better if she had let him drown. Would they all be spared this blood and pain? Would she be capable of loving another man aside from a cruel and damaged man? 

But she has no time for what ifs. Diana may only be a woman but she alone knows the Vikings better than anyone in Wessex. Her years spent among them will help her now. She works with the commanders left behind and sets to work. The defenses are improved. The men train with a ferocity that she insists they obtain. The Vikings know a code of blood and violence. God will not save them on the battlefield. She also prepares to join her father and brother on the battlefield. Judith begs her not to go. Diana thinks she may have a chance at swaying Bjorn or Ubbe. Sigurd she could deal with and Hvitserk would follow the majority. Ivar she will have to deal with. So she corners Judith and demands her strongest poison. 

"Why will you need it?" Judith ask her on the day she departs.

"So I can put Ivar out of his misery and give us a chance at survival."

Judith looks at her with pity and as if Diana is missing something. "I think you greatly underestimate your influence on that boy."

Diana is angry at how everyone refuses to believe her. She knows Ivar better than any of them. "He hates me. He probably heard about Charles and the baby and rejoiced. My death would have filled him with glee." She says it with a bitter certainty that has come from years of acceptance. 

Judith just shakes her head, kisses her forehead, gives her the poison, and tells her to bring their men back alive. Diana sets off at a hard pace that rattles her bones and makes her want to weep. But her face is carved out of stone. She can't allow herself to show a shred of weakness. No messengers have sent word of her survival. It would distract her father and brother from the war they must win. 

Along with the men she commands as a Princess of Wessex and from her own lands still loyal to her Diana prepares for the worst. She refuses to let her attachment to the Vikings cloud her judgment. She knows if she wants peace she must prepare for war. This is the only way.

on the morning of battle Ecbert dons his armor and prepares to die. But he knows that he will take as many of the heathens down with his as possible. Aerhelwulf will make a good King. He has already told his commanders if the battle looks lost they are to save his son above all else. The army sets off and they prepare to meet their fate. 

Wessex arrives first. They know this land. But their spies tells them the heathens are approaching. But out of the corner of his eye Ecbert sees a small column of men coming. His men draw their swords and prepare to charge but the figure at the front of the formation makes him think he is seeing a ghost. And as they approach he wants to vomit in anticipation and dread. 

she sits tall in her saddle. She wears a warm looking cloak, boots, and a lack dress. Her skin is pale and her freckles more numerous from time spent outdoors. And her red hair is shorn short. It is as short as that of his son and the curls dance in the wind. Hearing his son and the men swear let him know he is not delusional.

his daughter is alive. Diana is alive. This is not the time of the place but Ecbert does not care. Diana breaks in it a gallop and he meets her half way. Aethelwulf follows and the soldiers rapidly follow to protect their king. Diana aids mounts and rushes into his arms. 

She is solid and she buries her head in his chest like she has not done since before he sent her off to live among the Vikings. He feels a sob and then his son runs and envelops Diana from behind so she is surrounded by family. He breathes in and gives thanks to a whatever god is listening. Be the tranquil moment is broken when a horn sounds and he looks off the west. 

He sees the Heathen army. They are numerous and look ready for blood. He lets goof Diana. He cups her cheeks and looks into the hazel eyes she inherited from her mother. He kisses her forehead quickly and then turns to mount his horse. His children follow him. Soon enough they all on their way back to their armies. But before any of them can go any farther a roar stops them.

"Raudr!!!!!!!" It is the Norse word for red. Diana nearly topples of her horse as she turns around in her saddle. Sure enough a man has broken off from the heathens. He is tall and lean and someone she never thought she would see again. It is Floki. And he is still insulting her after all of these years. A chariot come up next to him and sees blanches when she sees the figure driving it. 

Ivar the Boneless. He is here. He is so close. The wind rushes into her eyes and Diana wishes she could wake up from this nightmare. 


	4. Chapter 4

It was supposed to be easy. Take their great heathen army. Conquer Wessex. Kill any who stood in their way. Take the children of the Red and convince Ivar to send them to Frankia where Rollo's wife Gisla who was a kinswoman of Diana our care for them. Show Ivar that he could move on and be the man he was meant to be. Break the ties holding him back. Make Ragnar proud. Floki knew this was what he needed to do. And now everything had changed. His hopes dashed. His plans shredded. And all because of the figure a league in front of his. 

Across the battlefield a woman sit on a horse. She looks shaken and is pale. And her short hair shines red in the sunlight. Ecbert and his son have formed a barrier around her on their horses. Diana the Red is alive. She is alive. How could she be alive????!!!! Mags had assured them all bitterly of her death. Her child cut out from her stomach. Heavy bleeding and soldiers coming. No one could have survived that. But this stubborn woman did. And now Floki must deal with these revelations. 

He looks and sees Ivar almost vibrating with either rage or anticipation. Those blue eyes are locked on the woman. His knuckles are grasping the reins so tight they are white. Ubbe is rattled. Bjorn looks calm but Floki knows he is uncertain. Hvitserk looks amused of all things and Sigurd is looking at Diana as he always did, with lust and resentment. Their warriors are all prepared to charge. For blood. For death and the glory of battle. But Floki knows if they charge now with this woman there is no telling what Ivar will do. 

He does not know how this will end. But it seems the gods have taken matters into their own hands. Diana has locked eyes with Ivar. She turns her horse around. Her mouth is open as if she is about to call. But then her eyes flutter and she sways. And then she begins to fall off the horse. Collapses right in the saddle. A soldier catches her before it happens. He grabs her with his sword out. Ecbert and Aethelwulf rush to her. The soldiers form a circle. He hears someone roar out her name. It is filled with pain and fear and anger. It sounds like a man losing his only hope. It is Ivar who yells out her name. 

Floki knows he is about to rush foreword and he will make this a bloodbath. He knows Ubbe thinks the same thing. They move at the same time. Floki grabs the reins while Ubbe grabs his brother to hold his arms. Ivar snarls and swears at their betrayal. He says he will kill them all. His eyes never leave the huddle of soldiers. 

Bjorn rushes over and yells out for the men who want to rush foreward to wait. It is like holding back the tide. Floki mutters to Ivar that he needs to calm down and that this will not help anyone. He then mentions Charles and Margagret and Diana. At those names Ivar stills and while he seethes he seems to be willing to listen. But out of the corner of his eye Floki sees a group of Vikings move. 

It is a group who lived in their settlement in Wessex. Led by a grizzled and mightily woman named Ingrid. Ingrid who settled looking to give her son and his children a chance. Ingrid leads the group with her son Sven at her side. Once they approach the Wessex soldiers draw their swords and spears ready for battle. But Ingrid shocks them all by kneeling. 

Ecbert can no believe his eyes. He sees the shield maiden kneeling and those with her follow suit before they rise again.

"Ecbert if Wessex I am Ingrid. I lived in the settlement before your daughter helped us flee. I came with the army to avenge her and to regain back my home. I owe your daughter my life and those of my son and his children. It is a debt that I would repay now." She nods to a younger woman at her side. "Eir is a healer as well as a shield maiden. She can help your daughter." 

Ecbert locks eyes with his son and sees the wariness and desperation in those eyes. They are in the middle of a battlefield and his daughter will not open his eyes. A ethereal nods and ecbert turns to Ingrid. "Very well. If you can help my daughter I will gift you will all the land you desire. Betray me and I will flay you alive and feed your eyes to the crows." 

A soldier calls out and they see Bjorn Ironside striding across the space between their armies. He comes followed by some Ecerbt assumes are his brothers and other leaders. The air is tense. Bjorn locks eyes and calls out,"Ecbert King of Wessex the man who sent my father to his death!!!! I believe we need to talk!!!".


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will happen now? It is a question that echoes and none know the answer.

Aethelwulf is not a cunning man like his father, able to twist and bend men to his will. He is not lik Diana who is able to survive whatever life throws at her and who has the ability to inspire people to follow her. He is not as smart as his father or as charismatic as his sister. But Aethelwult is smart enough. And he knows what a precarious position they are in. 

After Diana fell unconscious and the shieldmaiden helped to care for Athelwulf was ordered by his father to protect his sister. He did so but only after sending his most fierce Bishop Heahmund as his personal guard. And he was forced to wait and prepare for the worst. Hours passed before his father returned. A stalemate had been reached. The great heathen army would   Abide by a armistice for three days. And this was only achieved after Ivar the Boneless killed almost a dozen men who suggested they kill the Red and her father. It seemed they had all underestimated the depth of the bond shared with the cripple. 

This was evidenced by his current position. He was sitting at the side of his sister with a dozen men in a tent made of two draped together to fit all the occupants inside. His father is sleeping and the rest of the army is on edge. And on the other side of the bed his sister lays on in the Boneless himself. He has been at her side for two days. A day of waiting for his sister to waken from sleep she has been under. All the healers agree it is shock and exhaustion that has pushed her to the brink. The loss of her children and the drama that has followed has not been good for her.

at the mention of her children Ivar had grit his teeth and descended into an argument with his brother Ubbe. It ended with Ubbe storming away and Ivar planting himself in the chair. And so they have kept a vigil. At his side is the tall lanky one called Floki who seems caught between glaring at Diana or begging Ivar to leave. Aethelwulf hates most of his people on principle but even he can admire the man's resolve. He refuses to leave Diana. Even now his large hands holds her own. His hands are calloused and large. Scarred and burnt from what seems to be a forge. But his fingers encase her own gently as if she were a sacred treasure. And his eyes, so full of hatred and dark with rage, gentle when they look at her.

but the situation is hopeless. Diana will never leave England. She will not abandon her faith. He and his father will not let her rot amongst the Vikings. He knows Floki and Bjorn have tried to convince Ivar of this fact. He is not like his father or sister, fluent is Norse. But he can speak enough to catch the broken bits of the same argument again and again. 

But Ivar is a man that will not be moved. And Aethelwulf has nothing better to do but wait and study the man before him. And he wishes he could shoulder the burden of his sister. He wishes he could send this man and his army away. He wishes her children were alive. And he wishes that she could be happy. But for all his wishes he knows he can try to help make her smile. He will not let his sitter slip through his fingers again. And he knows for all of their disagreements Judith and his father will help him.

but first she has to wake up and they have to make the Vikings leave. Come hell of high water he will make this a reality. But first she has to wake up. And as he mutters another prayer in Latin that causes Floki to growl (and Aethelwulf will never admit to it but he takes his cross and speaks louder to drive the Viking crazy as his only source of amusement) the figure they all are here for stirs. Her eyes flutter and Diana turns to face her brother and begins to cough. He yells for the healer and holds his sister as she gasps for breath. And as those hazel eyes meet his own he smiles and vows to be steady for them all. 

"Brother where am I?? What happened......" Her voice trails off as she startles to see Floki out of the corner of her eye. Diana goes stiff and turns her body. Aetheleulf puts an arm around her and acts as support both literal and figuratively. And Diana looks and sees eyes as blue as an ocean. Eyes as blue as his father's. Eyes that have haunted her and given her comfort on her darkness days. 

A sob leave her throat and her eyes begin to water. She clutched her brother's arm. Her voice is hoarse from disuse. But sorrow and hope and bitterness and confusion all weave together. "Ivar." 

And in return the man before her shocks them all. He looks at her with eyes that soften. It scares her. "Diana." He says her name like a prayer. A caress. And where her voice wavered his is strong and sure. And it makes her want to cry even more. This man hates her. He has hated her since as long as she has known him. So why is he looking at her the way his father looked at Lagertha and her own father looks at Judith? Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not sorry for the ending!!!! There will be a sequel called when you give me those ocean eyes. It is in that story Ivar and Diana will finally truly reunite and hash out all the miscommunication and secrets. I have plans tentatively for a final story that will wrap it all up. So two more to go in this saga!!!! Thanks for all the reads, kudos, and reviews!!! Enjoy!!!


End file.
